Heisman Watch: Georgia’s Aaron Murray Coming Through In The Clutch

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The Heisman race is starting to hit its stride as we get to the middle of October and conference action heats up. This is the time of the season when contenders and pretenders begin to go their separate ways in the championship hunt, and the same can go for the Heisman Trophy race as well. Here is a look at one player beginning to move up in the competition at the right time.

QB Aaron Murray, Georgia

(Credit, Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

One of the all-time best quarterbacks in the SEC is still busy rewriting the record books while keeping the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC and BCS title hunt. Aaron Murray has already come up with huge wins in conference play and has shown an uncanny ability to lead his team on a scoring drive when they need it the most. With Murray putting together rock-solid numbers and producing wins, it is no wonder he has become one of the popular names in the Heisman Trophy discussion.

Murray recently became the SEC’s all-time passing leader and has thrown at least three touchdowns in each of his past four games while being intercepted just twice in that span. When Georgia has been hit with injuries or put in a difficult situation, Murray has led the offense down field with great confidence and composure the way a seasoned starter should. In this area, Murray has not disappointed.

What will help Murray’s Heisman push will be Georgia continuing to win games despite a rash of injuries and Murray playing well in upcoming games against Missouri, Vanderbilt and Florida. Defeating Florida could lead to a Heisman moment, which always helps out a Heisman candidate at some point, but Murray’s Heisman moment may be better off if it could come in an SEC Championship winning drive against a team like Alabama, Texas A&M or even LSU.

Heisman Match-Up of the Week

Oregon at Washington: Oregon plays on the road against a top 25 team, Washington, this weekend, which gives Heisman hopeful quarterback Marcus Mariota a chance to play in a hostile environment for the first time all season. Mariota is coming off a seven-touchdown performance against Colorado and continues to pile up offensive stats. On the flip side, dark horse candidate Keith Price leads Washington’s offense looking to bounce back from a tough loss at Stanford. Price has been pretty accurate this season and passed for 350 yards and two touchdowns against Stanford last week. Leading the Huskies to an upset over the Ducks could start to open some eyes about his profile moving forward.

Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on

Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on aExaminer.com.